


Runnin' home to you

by GaneWhoo



Series: Supercat prompts and Co [13]
Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/F, Military AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-26
Updated: 2017-03-26
Packaged: 2018-10-11 05:16:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,678
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10455957
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GaneWhoo/pseuds/GaneWhoo
Summary: « She knows something is wrong before she can even reach the door.It’s a feeling, something that surges in her and suddenly, all she can feel is cold. Everything is cold, like a sheath of ice forming around her heart and she swallows, thickly.When she does open the door, she sees Lucy Lane, in her full Major uniform, and she meets her incredible green eyes and oh.The chagrin spinning in there tells her everything she doesn’t want to know. It’s regrets and horror and it’s loss. So much loss, with the sparkle of steel determination of someone who has to deliver the bad news.It’s her worst nightmare and it’s the very end of her world.She then notices the dog laying at the Major’s feet, the sad and lost brown eyes, the not so shiny fur and the absence of reaction whatsoever.She screams.»





	

“Mom, come on, we need to get going now!”

Carter Grant, already dressed up and closing his fancy winter coat up to his chin, is frowning at his mother and there is a disapproving scowl etched upon his childish features.

His mother, clad in a pair of casual but designer denim jeans and a floating, dark grey cashmere sweater, simply smiles sweetly at him before focusing back on her fashion dilemma. She’s standing in front of a closet, inside of which there are shelves and shelves full of shoes on display.

“Can’t you just like, grab one pair and then we can go?” Carter asks, already sounding defeated because he knows, better than anyone else, that Cat Grant will never do just that. The glare his mother throws at him from above her shoulder only confirms it.

“We are going to be late.” He sighs and then lets himself fall backward on the queen-sized mattress of his mother’s bed.

“Stop sighing and whining around, Sweetheart. We are not going to be late, we still have plenty of time. Her plane doesn’t land for another three hours and we do not need to wait in a crowded airport in the meantime.” His mother retorts with another meaningful glare but he sees sparkles of gold flicker in her green eyes, a tell-tale of impatience and anticipation.

“Fine. Fine.” He relents, trying his best not to sigh. He takes off his winter coat and then approaches the shoes closet, coming to a stop next to his mother.

He smiles at the memories flooding his mind when he considers the many, many shelves of shoes. He can practically name the creator and the collection for each single pair, with an approximate date of creation or first exhibition.

“Need a hand mom?” He asks with a smile and she simply nods.

He notices she’s smiling too.

\---

“Mom, can you tell me again the story of how you met her?” Carter asks as they wait in the appropriate terminal, at the far east of National City’s airport.

He’s never been really comfortable being surrounded by so many people, especially not strangers and even if he’s impatient and excited, he can feel the anxiety bubbling in his stomach and tingling underneath his fingertips.  
His mother’s voice is one of the few things able to sooth him and he’s always loved that particular story.

They’re sitting next to each other and he can see the smile that tugs at the corners of his mother’s lips as she slowly turns a page of her magazine. It’s the latest issue of CatCo and Carter recognizes the woman on the cover as Lena Luthor, the newly appointed CEO of L-Corp.  
It’s a company he’s following with a great interest, ever since it drove Lord Technologies to declare bankruptcy.

“You know the story better than me by now, Carter, but sure.” She starts, closing the magazine and turning to face her son. She’s smiling now and it grounds him to reality because it’s soft and tender. It’s everything he needs at the moment.

“It was about seven years ago and it was in April, so a little before your sixth birthday. I was coming back from CatCo France and I was stuck in New York because the correspondence flight got severely delayed and wouldn’t take off until the next day. Here I was, in the middle of the airport, trying to order a car to take me to a hotel at least. when something crashed, and I mean crashed, into my legs. I looked down and there was a puppy, an actual puppy trying to stand up between my feet. I remember, I thought it was surreal and it looked so fluffy, with the floppy ears and huge brown eyes …” Cat tells with a fond smile on her lips.

Carter smiles and then nods slightly, inviting his mother to keep talking.

“I stared at the little animal for a good five minutes before I finally heard the voice of a woman, apologizing profusely and trying to call the puppy back. It was only then that I looked up and I saw a woman looking very sheepish and embarrassed, with a blue leash in one hand and a coffee cup in the other. I stared at her too, I remember. She was wearing an oversized bright and flashy red hoodie that hurt my eyes at the time, matching shoes and a pair of worn out blue-jeans. She was pretty though, in a natural and simple way, with her deep blue eyes and light brown hair with golden strands. She apologized and apologized and I think I snapped at her to stop doing that. She looked so offended and sad, it was like I had kicked the puppy itself. I don’t know why but I immediately felt guilty and I apologized. I explained I was coming back from France and that I was exhausted and she just smiled and waved the apology off. Her smile was … “ Cat’s voice trails off a little and she looks thoughtful for a while. Carter knows she’s looking for a new way to describe the smile, because she’s never pleased with the way she does it, every time.

“It was like coming home, actually.” Cat whispers and Carter arches a surprised brow because this one is new. It feels incredibly right though, he thinks as he watches the smile on his mother’s lips become softer and softer and softer. He smiles too.

“I don’t remember much of what we talked about, it’s a shame really. I just know that I learned the puppy’s name, Krypto, that day. She might have more memories, you’ll have to ask her. I just know that she stayed with me when I was waiting for the car and once it was there and my luggages were loaded in the boot, she stammered and stuttered to ask for my number. I didn’t even know her name at the time, she was just a nice stranger with a cute little puppy that kept me company for a while. I acted on impulse and I gave her my number.” Cat smirks and Carter knows it’s because she’s reliving the nervous way the woman asked for her number.  
It’s still a joke today, amongst them.

Cat is about to continue her story when the speakers suddenly come alive. A scrambled electronic voice announces that the flight they are waiting for is finally landing and the passengers should be getting out in about fifteen minutes.

“About time.” Carter mumbles but then, the movements around him, strangers moving, chatting and shuffling closer to the seats, makes him even more uneasy than he previously was.

“She didn’t call for a few days and by that time, I was already back in National City.” Cat starts again, her voice soft and gentle, calm. Carter immediately focuses on it.

“She called me on a Friday night. I picked up and that’s how I learned her name. She introduced herself as Kara, owner of a very young and still untrained puppy that has a tendency to go crash himself in the legs of pretty women. I was so surprised to hear from her, I actually laughed at this very bad pickup line. We ended up talking for almost the whole night, it was 5am when she hung up. You know how much I hate small talk and long useless conversations but I found that it was so easy to talk with this stranger I only met once …” Cat smiles again at the memory, all the while glancing towards the gates that will soon open to let out the passengers of the flight.

“It took a month of those calls for me to find out about her profession. She told me, when I asked her. She explained that she was a member of the army and more specifically a soldier in a bomb squad that specializes in finding and dismantling or getting rid of the bombs. She was mostly in the research team though and she had just received the dog she would use for her future missions. She needed to train the dog and so she was staying in the country. It was pure luck she was stationed in Fort Rozz, just outside of National City …” Cat explains with a slight frown between her eyes.

He wants to ask why she looks a little upset but then he hears a joyful bark and his head snaps up towards the source of the noise.

“KRYPTOOOOO!” He yells as he gets up and runs to meet the dog halfway, not caring about the strangers surrounding him anymore.

It’s a happy reunion between a young boy in winter attire with unruly light-brown curls and a muscular, athletic Belgian shepherd that yaps and wags his tail to show his happiness and excitement.

Cat looks at her son and the dog for a while, a soft smile on her lips but then her eyes are wandering across the crowd that floods out of the gates.

She’s searching for someone and her heart is racing faster inside her chest with each passing face that isn’t the one she wants to see.

Finally, she falls into a pair of deep, deep blue eyes that sparkle with love and joy and she feels whole again.

It’s like coming home.

\---

“Babe, Lucy is asking if she can come over for dinner tomorrow night, do we have any plans?” Kara asks with a smile as she enters the kitchen, where Cat and Carter are making dinner.

“No, we don’t have anything planned, and of course she’s always welcome here! We could invite your sister and Maggie over too?” Cat replies with a nod, pushing the vegetables in the pan, and stirring slowly to make sure it doesn’t burn.

“That’s an excellent idea! I’m going to call them, see if they’re free. Winn can’t make it, he apparently found himself a girlfriend and he’s still in his honeymoon phase …” Kara explains, sitting on a stool at the counter island. She pulls out the phone and presses a button before saying “Luce, you’re on speaker, Cat and Carter are here too!”

“Hi Luce!” Carter happily greets her. There’s a laugh coming from the cellphone and then Luce’s voice answers “Hi buddy! Hello Cat, how’s life at the Grant’s palace?”

Cat shakes her head and rolls her eyes, but she’s smiling and Carter just shrugs.

“The Lane manor isn’t too bad itself, you know.” He answers with a knowing smirk and Kara chuckles.

“Ah well, it’s actually haunted by a pregnant Lois and let me tell you, it’s SCARY.” Lucy answers and there’s another voice that joins her.

“Hi guys, do you mind if I tag along tomorrow too?”

“SUSAN! I didn’t know you were back! Of course, please do come! The more the merrier!” Kara answers and she talks too fast, like she does when she’s over enthusiastic about something. Carter just smiles happily and Cat looks at them with fondness.

There is no place like home.

\---

“Sergeant Astra has such high-standards, it’s exhausting seriously.” Lucy says, a glass of red wine in her left hand and the right one sitting atop of Susan’s thigh.

“Yeah but it’s totally worth it, she’s the best mentor we could hope for.” Alex answers, from the armchair across the couch where Lucy and Susan are seated next to each other. Maggie is on the floor next to Alex’s legs and she’s playing with Krypto.  
Kara, curled against the other angle of the couch, chimes in. “Yeah, I’m glad she took over after your dad’s retirement, Luce. I know he’s your dad and all, but man, he was an ASS with the new recruits, especially the women.”

“Oh, I know, I know. Why do you think Lois left the army without finishing her training? She was way too rebellious to accept the way he was treating her and frankly, I have no idea how I managed to endure it.” Lucy answers with a disgusted face. Susan simply smirks, but she doesn’t chime in.

It’s Cat, who’s sitting on the other armchair, near Kara, who jumps in.

“Your sister was and still is a stubborn asshole, though. I can’t wait to see how motherhood will hit her.” There’s a smirk on her lips, a rather nasty one and Lucy chuckles.

“I can’t believe Kara managed to fall in love with the only person on this earth Lois was unable to tame.” Lucy jokes and Kara smirks.

She looks at Cat and it’s soft and pure when she simply answers “I just did and I still do. Fall in love with her, I mean.”

Cat’s smile lights up the room and she leans over to kiss Kara, with love and passion.

A collective aww echoes in the background.

\---

Krypto is running after a Frisbee, the snow barely crisping under his paws.

He’s exhaling condensation, like the rest of the humans around.  
Carter, wearing his winter coat, a thick scarf and a pair of warm gloves, is waiting for the dog to return with the toy and a little behind him, Cat and Kara are standing next to each other, both holding a to-go cup from Noonan’s.

“Come on buddy, bring it!” Carter yells to the dog and Krypto jumps to catch the Frisbee mid-flight. He misses a beat and falls back on the back in the snow but he doesn’t seem to mind, already finding back his balance to come running back to Carter.

“Good boy!” Carter pets him with a laugh and then he throws the Frisbee again, watching Krypto dart after it.

Kara’s smile is wide and soft, full of love as she watches the happiness clearly etched across Carter’s face. He’s smiling and despite his pink cheeks and red nose, he doesn’t seem to notice the cold, too engrossed in his game with the animal.

“Krypto truly brings him out of his shell, it’s becoming more obvious with each passing year now.” Cat comments and the smile on her lips is matching Kara’s.  
“How is he doing? He didn’t want to talk to me about school and I … I didn’t push.” Kara says softly and there’s a sad edge to her question. Insecurities, doubts and regrets are spinning in a never ending loop in her ocean blue eyes and even though she’s looking straight ahead, Cat sees it.

She understands.

Kara’s a soldier and she’s more often absent than not, Cat had made peace with it a long time ago. It doesn’t make things easier, not by far, but she’s at peace with the fact Kara comes and goes with the missions she gets. She has learned to live with Kara’s absences.

Carter never really did get used to it and it’s still a very sensitive spot for him. He isn’t trying to be mean to Kara, but he often refuses to share things with her that could, from his childish point of view, alter their already too rare quality time.

“He’s doing great. He’s still struggling with his social skills, not having many friends and preferring to spend his time alone, but from a scholar point of view, he’s a true genius.” Cat informs, slipping her free hand into Kara’s pocket to entwine their gloved fingers.

“You’re not telling me everything.” Kara simply states and Cat sighs. She’s hoped she could avoid this talk, but she should have known it was impossible. Kara had some kind of super sense to detect lies, half-truths or untold information.

“He got into a fight, a few months back. A bully messed with him, telling him mean things about … about us.” Cat cautiously explains and she doesn’t need to elaborate because the look on Kara’s face tells her she knows exactly what kind of insults had been said.

“I grounded him but he was quiet for almost two weeks after that. Really quiet, only saying hello and goodbye and only out of good education, I assume. He came to me eventually, explaining everything and apologizing but … I think this would have been better handled by you.” Cat ends with a soft sigh and she sees Kara clench her jaw.

She knows Kara is often dealing with the guilt of imposing her military life on them, on Carter especially. She knows the soldier is torn apart between her love for her family and her love for her country, for the army, for everything it represents to her. She loves the fact Kara doesn’t take them for granted, always working hard to show her love and devotion, but in the end, duty calls and she goes away, again.

Carter hates it.  
He straight out hates it and he often refuses to come with them to the airport whenever Kara needs to take off to another dangerous country.

“Moooom look!” Carter calls and they both focus on him. He’s holding the Frisbee up in the air and spinning on himself, Krypto raised on his rear legs and following the movement. They look like they are slowly dancing.

It makes the two women laugh.

Life looks easy.

\---

“You’re leaving soon.” Cat whispers in the darkness of their bedroom, curled against Kara’s naked flank. It’s not a question, she just knows it.

Kara never sleeps when she knows she has to announce that she’s going away soon.  
It’s a fact Cat has learned pretty soon in their relationship.

She’s fallen in love with that girl so fast, so hard and every time Kara got called to another dark and dangerous country, it feels like someone is ripping her heart out of her chest to slowly, ever-so-slowly, crush it. She used to have panic attacks, on the nights before Kara’s departure.

Nowadays, she’s dealing a little better, but she still feels like her life is put on hold until Kara comes home.

When she’s first learned Kara’s profession, she thought it was a no-go, but then, the girl climbed all the walls she had carefully put up to protect her heart, one by one. Kara’s worked all the way to Cat’s very soul and Cat just fell in love.

“I’m sorry.” Kara whispers and Cat feels the breath of the words against her shoulder. She swallows thickly, but doesn’t answer.

She can’t tell Kara it’s okay, because it never is.

Kara knows.

\---

Carter doesn’t come with them to the airport, but he throws a temper tantrum when Kara and Krypto have to leave. Kara calls Alex, who agrees to come and watch over Carter for as long as it’s needed.

In the terminal, Cat is silent and Kara doesn’t speak either. She never lets go of Cat’s hand though, and Cat clings to it without hesitation.

The hug after the last call is heavy and bittersweet, but Cat lets Kara go anyway.

National City doesn’t feel like home anymore.

\---

She knows something is wrong before she can even reach the door.

It’s a feeling, something that surges in her and suddenly, all she can feel is cold. Everything is cold, like a sheath of ice forming around her heart and she swallows, thickly.

When she does open the door, she sees Lucy Lane, in her full Major uniform, and she meets her incredible green eyes and oh.

The chagrin spinning in there tells her everything she doesn’t want to know. It’s regrets and horror and it’s loss. So much loss, with the sparkle of steel determination of someone who has to deliver the bad news.

It’s her worst nightmare and it’s the very end of her world.

She then notices the dog laying at the Major’s feet, the sad and lost brown eyes, the not so shiny fur and the absence of reaction whatsoever.

She screams.

\---

Krypto sleeps on Carter’s bed.

Every day, every night, he just sleeps at the end of the teenager’s bed and he doesn’t really move.

He barely eats, he barely drinks and he’s just like the rest of the house.

They’re all dealing with the loss of Kara, reported MIA during an exploratory mission in Syria. Lucy explained what had happened to Alex and Cat.

A routine mission, she said. Something so normal, it was supposed to be safe, more of an exercise than anything.  
Kara had been investigating a building, a village house in a block far away from the sensitive zone. Lucy had seen the house blow up before her eyes. She had been there the whole time, she’s been the one to retrieve a wounded Krypto from the ruins, but then, the enemy was on them and they had to retreat. There was no way, no way Kara could have survived.

Cat blames Lucy for not getting at least Kara’s body, for them to have some kind of closure.  
Lucy takes the blame without even trying to explain, eaten alive by her own guilt.

Alex comes in, twice a day, to take Krypto out for a walk and it’s as lifeless as it can be.

Cat and Alex try to sometimes talk but the grief and despair weight too heavy in the air, it chokes them and they quickly retreat into the familiar silence.

Carter doesn’t talk anymore.

At all.

He wakes up, dresses, goes to school, but he doesn’t talk. When his teachers ask something, he doesn’t answer. He does his homework and he still jots down his classes, but he just doesn’t speak. Ever.

The only interaction he allows himself is for when he needs to call the dog.

He goes with Alex for the walks, but every time Cat asks, Alex shakes her head no.

No, Carter didn’t say anything.

Their home is broken.

\---

When three soldiers come to her house, a month and a half later, she thinks they finally found Kara’s body.

They didn’t.

They’re here to take Krypto, they say he needs to get back to work. They are talking of finding him a new owner.

Carter screams and it’s the first time he opens his mouth for anything other than to call Krypto. He just screams and he does it until his voice breaks in his throat. Cat can’t calm him. Alex tries and fails too. It’s only when Krypto comes to put his head on Carter’s lap that the teenager stops screaming.

Cat fights, tooth and nails, to keep the dog.

She hires an army of lawyers to fight the suit the army dropped on her.

Stealing of army property, the official paper says and she rips it in a half the first time, out of pure rage.

It lasts four months and the army doesn’t back off.

Krypto is the last remnant of what was once their home.

She’s never going to let go of him.

\---

Six months after Kara’s disappearance, Carter still doesn’t speak and his teachers are starting to think he’s never going to do it again.

Cat thinks it’s highly probable and she doesn’t know what to do.

Everything fell apart when Kara disappeared.

They don’t see any visitors anymore.

Alex still comes twice a day, but it’s so usual now, it’s part of their broken routine. Lucy returned to the front and she sometimes sends a letter, but Cat and Carter never answer. Winn came by, once or twice, but the grief drove him away and he went to France to build another tech company.

Lois Lane came once, with her newborn daughter and Cat only told her to go away. She still can’t deal with a Lane, any Lane. Lois did as she was told, for once, and without any fuss.

Krypto is still with them, the shadow of the dog he used to be. It breaks Cat, who remembers the puppy that crashed into her legs, almost eight years ago.

She thinks she’s never going to feel at home ever again.

\---

Then eight months after Kara’s disappearance, it’s the middle of the summer break when Alex calls to say she won’t be able to take Krypto for a walk at the end of the day. She doesn’t say why, but Cat suspects it’s because Maggie found out about Alex’s relapse into the bottle and she’s going to start the program again.

She takes Carter and Krypto to the park, around 5pm.

Krypto listens to Carter like he used to listen to Kara and it offers her a little comfort. Carter sighs and throws the Frisbee again, watching as the dog goes to retrieve it. It lacks enthusiasm, on both parts, but Cat takes it as a sign of hope. She has to cling to whatever she can.

She’s looking at her son, her heart breaking all over again, when suddenly, Krypto barks.

Loudly.

Then he darts towards the end of the park.

Carter looks at his mother, taken aback by this sudden behavior. Cat looks back at him, equally shocked.

It’s only when she sees a golden strand of hair catch a sunbeam that she begins to understand.

Her heart, dormant for so long, races inside of her chest and hope is flooding her by waves, it’s brutal, it’s intense and she swallows because she can’t allow herself to trust what her eyes see.

It’s an illusion, it can’t be true.

But then, there are two deep, deep blue eyes staring at her from all the way across the park and she sees a smile that feels like …

Coming home.

\---

Kara Danvers is alive and slowly, ever so slowly, starting to get used to the feeling again.

Cat clings to her at night, when they’re alone in their bed. She often wakes up in a jolt, terrorized that it was all a dream, but then strong arms are holding her tight and she allows herself to break and cry. It’s Kara’s strong heartbeat that lulls her to sleep, every night.

Carter starts talking again. It’s slow and he needs help, but Kara is there every step of the way. She’s not treating him like he’s sick, she’s acting with him like she always did and it takes months, but in the end, he finally becomes whole again.

Then one day, he just calls her Mum, in the middle of a conversation, easily. It makes Cat and Kara cry, but it’s from happiness and emotion. Those are good tears.

They fight like hell the day Kara announces she wants to return to the army.

In the end, they work out a compromise and Kara becomes a teacher for the canine squad, forming trainees to do the job she used to do. It’s still in the army, but it’s in Fort Rozz and she’s home every night.

Alex proposes to Maggie about one year after Kara’s return.

\---

“What do you want, big boy?” Cat asks with a smile as she feels Krypto jump on the couch besides her. She used to groan about the dog getting on her expensive furniture, but when Kara was MIA, she had welcomed the company, she had even needed it and now it was too late.

He looks at her with his expressive brown eyes and she sees a small box in his mouth.

Curious, she holds her hand for him to drop the little box and she makes a face when it comes off with a little drool on it.

“Ew, Krypto!” She scowls at him, but he just tilts his head and one of his ears breaks, it gives him a funny look. She smiles and shakes her head again before opening the box.

She gapes at the sight of the ring inside, a perfectly simple silver band with a little green diamond atop of it.

“Catherine Jane Grant, will you marry me?” Kara’s voice chimes in and Cat looks up to see Kara kneel in front of her, gently taking the box out of her hands.

Cat feels tears fall from her eyes, but her voice is firm and incredibly sure when she just answers,

“I do.”

When Kara puts the ring on her finger and kisses her as if the world was about to die, she thinks she will never feel more at home.

THE END

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys!
> 
> This was a prompt and I just LOVE that universe and I'm totally keeping the dog for future fic. Also, I borrowed the title from the Supergirl/The Flash crossover, it's the song at the end of the episode. I kind of love it and it was perfect for that fic.
> 
> Let me know if you liked it and as always, I'm taking prompt and you can drop yours on my tumblr, **lost-your-memory**
> 
> See you around guys! ♥


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